


it was a dark and stormy night

by dogmat



Series: snk drabbles [5]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Universe, Eren can sew, Necromancy, Oneshot, Self-Indulgent, but not really at the same time, eren revives the dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:55:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27033775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogmat/pseuds/dogmat
Summary: Eren can revive the dead. And stitch. Especially bodies.
Series: snk drabbles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914526
Comments: 4
Kudos: 97





	it was a dark and stormy night

**Author's Note:**

> Just the prospect of Eren reviving the dead instead of controlling Titans. :D 
> 
> I'm not sure what really is considered Graphic Descriptions of Violence, because my opinion of it would be paragraphs and paragraphs of detailed gore... but that's not for everyone, right?
> 
> This was originally much longer... but then the more I wrote, the more it sounded like a multichaptered story, so I ended it abruptly here, so please enjoy this 1.5k+ story of Eren's sewing and reviving capabilities! 
> 
> Lastly, please enjoy!

It was a dark and stormy night. Shiganshina was empty by the time twilight arrived, and with the approaching clouds that rumbled and lit ever so slightly, the townsfolk were keen to not venture out until dawn.

There, in one house that stood like every other, situated near the stairs that went upwards, was a boy. The child was faced towards the wall, and in an instant, his back was illuminated from the lightning, but only for a second. And if one looked closely in that second, they would have seen something horrifying.

The boy was not faced completely to the wall; a slight tilt made it possible to see the little figure in his lap, and the figure was _ghastly_. A mangled puppy—a mere corpse—was being mended assiduously as possible with the help of a needle and thread. Each stitch was congruent to the previous one, and when he finally finished, he stopped to admire his work, smiling irresolutely.

Gently, the boy set the puppy down to the wooden floor, his blood coated hands further smearing the matted fur of the animal, staining the original greyish-brown into a dark red. Regardless, the boy remained aloof and when he blinked, his green eyes had turned into a _glowing_ amber; almost animalistic in a sense.

There was no incantation for what he was about to execute. Just his voice and his will. Nothing else. So when he opened his mouth and uttered two words, heavily coated with power, he remained unsurprised as the corpse of the dog trembled before slowly getting up. Its joints straightened shakily, and droplets of blood fell to the ground with a single _‘splat’_. It was a surprise that none of the stitches snapped, and the child smiled when the dog managed to half-drag-half-walk towards him.

“You’ll be my friend, right?” He whispered almost lovingly.

The dog let out a low sound in response.

* * *

Carla stared out of the window and frowned worriedly at the figure out on the grass. Her son; Eren, remained as still and stoic as ever, even while playing out in the yard. His back was hunched and it looked to be as if he was doing something, and while Carla didn’t really care, she was worried about the sheer lack of friends her son had. 

He had none.

And when she brought this up to her husband, he dismissed her concern with a simple wave of his hand. 

“He’s still young,” assured Grisha soothingly.

“Dear, you _know_ it’s not about his age!” Carla said rather hotly before pausing to take a breath. Her voice was much calmer the next time she spoke. “I’m only worried as any mother would.”

Grisha nodded. “And you should.” He agreed. He raised a hand when Carla tried to speak. “But remember that not all children are the same.”

“I…” she thought of what to say. “I guess… but it’s not only about his lack of friends.”

“Oh?” Grisha raised an eyebrow.

“He thinks he’s quiet, but I know he’s been creeping out of his room at night,” Carla admitted. “And this morning, I saw a patch of blood over there,” she pointed at the corner near the kitchen.

Grisha faltered in his movement, his teacup only touching his lips as he squinted at the corner his wife pointed at. As she said, there was a faint, but noticeable dark stain near the corner. 

* * *

When Armin—his only friend he made just weeks ago—found out about his peculiar ability, Eren should have expected the shock that followed.

The boy toppled over, paling, and became an incoherent mess as he fearfully stared at the dead puppy beside him. At his reaction, he thought that he shouldn’t bring his dog anymore. But by the next day, Armin—though still a little fearful—was overcome with extreme curiosity and proceeded to throw question after question at him.

“When did you find out about this?”

“How do you do it?”

“Is the red an aesthetic?”

And most of which, he didn’t know the answer to.

Unusually flustered, Eren stammered out an explanation.

“U-uh, I don’t know?” He shrugged. “I just… _knew_. Like knowing how to do things without learning.”

Armin nodded, understanding. “How about the steps?” He asked. “Do you just—" he waved at the puppy. “—tell it to wake up?”

“Him.” Eren corrected automatically. 

“ _Him_ ,” Armin repeated. He glanced at the puppy once again. “Or is the string part of a ritual?”

Eren shook his head. “No,” he answered. He continued, “He was really… ripped when I found him, so I mended him back together.”

“And the red string?”

“Blood.”

“Naturally?”

Eren nodded.

“B-but blood turns brown? How does it stay red?”

The brunet paused. How _did_ it stay red, anyway? The strings naturally turned red (permanently) when he mended the dog together, and he never gave it much thought—like his ability—until Armin mentioned it. 

Armin continued, relentless, “What happens to their personality? Memories?”

Ah. Eren almost hesitated in answering. “There’s not much I can do about them losing their personality, and...” he paused. “I usually gain their memory.”

The blond raised his eyebrows. “You _gain_ them? How?”

“When I revive them,” Eren explained. “I usually only see a glimpse of their death and other events… sometimes more, sometimes less.” He shrugged at the end.

* * *

Carla remained oblivious to Eren’s ability while Grisha eventually found out on a rainy day.

After discovering the dead bodies belonging to the Ackermans with their daughter conveniently missing, Eren shoved the urge to revive the two remains and went to look for the daughter instead (against his father’s wishes).

The cabin he discovered was worn down, and he was unsure at first, but it was his one and only clue, so he carefully looked through the window, mindful of the possible enemy that may lie beyond the thin glass.

 _Bingo_ , he thought when he spotted two large men and a small girl on the ground, no doubt tied up. 

Quietly, he crept through the halls, picking up a knife along the way before rubbing his eyes harshly and wincing at the prickle of tears that gathered. There was barely any thought as he opened the door, successfully pretending to be a lost boy in the woods, and there was even little thought when he stabbed the man’s neck, the memory of his father’s medical textbook coming up as he pushed the blade out and swiftly slid away from the doorway, out of sight.

“ **Kill it.** ” He whispered, and his amber eyes widened in fascination as the man’s eyes rolled back. “Here.” He handed the knife over to the ‘living’ corpse.

_People with dead eyes… crying… Ackerman’s corpses… Him..._

And true to his orders, the corpse lumbered over and killed the other man, and while Eren thought that that was it, the corpse thought otherwise as it began to walk out the door, and the brunet watched with confused eyes, silent, and curious as to what the body was doing.

Moments later, there was a yelp that was followed by a gurgling sound, and when the girl with wide eyes whispered, “Three men.” He knew that the third man had died.

That was the scene Grisha came upon. 

Two bodies outside the cabin, one with a knife, and another body inside the cabin, followed by a kidnapped young girl whose parents’ corpse were discovered in another house not far from the area. Of course, the Military Police labeled this whole ordeal as a result of a man with remorse, and the case was closed without any questions towards the young boy or the girl.

Except for Grisha, of course.

“What happened?” Grisha asked. Not unkindly, but apprehensively. His eyes darted over to the Military Police before jerking back to his son. “Does it have something to do with the blood in the corner of the house?”

Eren’s head shot up at his statement. “Wha-”

Grisha nodded grimly. “Carla found blood in the corner of the house one morning after hearing you walk around.”

“...”

“Eren,” Grisha coaxed. “What _really_ happened?”

The brunet hesitantly looked at his father. “About the corner?”

“Both.”

“A revived a puppy,” Eren admitted. “And I revived a man I killed.”

“You-”

“He revived a man,” Mikasa interrupted. She held Grisha’s coat closer around her smaller frame and shivered. “And saved me.” The last part was said almost astonishingly.

* * *

“So you know?” Armin asked. “About…” he gestured towards Eren.

Mikasa nodded mutely, burying her face into Eren’s—her red scarf.

* * *

“I could have brought her back,” Eren whispered. “I could have brought mom back.”

Armin shook his head. “You said it yourself, didn’t you? You can’t be sure if they’ll retain their personality.”

“And they didn’t,” Mikasa added. “Remember?”

Eren nodded reluctantly, remembering the night at the cabin. Of course, it could have been because he wasn’t intent on keeping their personality intact, but there was a high chance that that wasn’t the case, especially when most of the animals he revived only did their purpose. To entertain him.

“I miss him, though.”

“Your dog?”

“Mn.”

* * *

If Grisha was stricken after Eren killed _one_ man, he wasn’t sure how his father would react if he found out that it wasn’t the last man he killed.

After the fall of Wall Maria and the loss of his home, Eren had done many things he wasn’t happy about (more reviving, killing, etc.). And he was glad that when he enlisted in the military, there were no further questions except for where he came from (he answered Shiganshina). But that didn’t go for the other trainees. 

Most of the trainees were so… _innocent_ , and Eren wondered if he had never lost his home, he would have the same light as them. But then he thought back to the time he met Mikasa and the countless hours he spent on mending distorted corpses and shook his head. 

_No._ He thought distantly. _I was never innocent to begin with._

* * *

He eventually got an apprenticeship with the medic.

“Your father was Grisha Yeager?” Doctor Wagner said disbelievingly. “He’s very well known in Sheena, you know. A good man, he was.” Then there was a pause before, “What happened to him?”

“He went missing.”

“ _Ah_.”

* * *

Eren could never say that his ability to sew was from stitching dead bodies together. Never. But he said something eerily similar.

So when someone asked how he was so good when he was mending his ripped uniform (another gear accident), he said the first thing that came up in his mind.

“I helped my dad.” _That sounds normal, right? I mean..._

Marco cocked his head to the side. “He was a seamster?” He asked. Then he added, “Or a tailer?”

The brunet shook his head. “He was a doctor.”

At the confused look most— _all_ of the trainees had, Eren blurted, “I sewed injuries.” _Shit. Not what I wanted to say._

And boy, was that awkward. Reiner’s smile was strained, Bertolt paled when he was near him, Annie subtly scooted away from him with a quiet “Disgusting.”, and the annoying horse-face was suddenly quiet, paler than usual, and less snappy.

Okay, so maybe he should have said that he helped his mom instead.

**Author's Note:**

> Petra… Oluo… Eld… Gunther… Eren wanted to cry as they were crushed by the Female Titan.
> 
> While it was short, he could feel the bond that formed in the last few days, and he felt the pain as he stared at the lifeless eyes that were filled with so much life just hours ago. There was a distinct pain in his chest as his squad was decimated; dead as blood pooled around them.
> 
> ‘Was this how Armin felt when I…’
> 
> “Corporal,” Eren whispered as they rode back to the walls. “I-”
> 
> “Save it.” Levi interrupted. He gripped the reins of his horse tightly and said nothing, only staring straight.
> 
> And Eren was glad the shorter man interrupted him, and he was even more glad when the man stared straight ahead.
> 
> -
> 
> When the Titans came running and the carriages had no choice but to get rid of the corpses, Eren couldn’t help himself.
> 
> ‘Not the bodies!’
> 
> “No!” He yelled. Petra, Oluo, Gunther… everyone…
> 
> Levi glared at the brunet, a snap at the tip of his tongue, but whatever he was going to say trailed off when he spotted something behind the Titans.
> 
> His eyes widened.
> 
> The corpses… the corpses that were wrapped neatly in cloth were gone, and instead, it was replaced with all the dead soldiers who were standing limply like a marionette waiting to be controlled.
> 
> Petra was the most noticeable; whose light hair lit from the sunset, and whose uniform was ripped and stained with blood. She stood; her eyes unusually red as she stared straight at Eren as if waiting for orders. However, Eren remained silent and left the bodies where they were.
> 
> -
> 
> The first thing Levi did was slam Eren’s back to the wall when they got back. Ignoring the other soldiers’ stares and Armin’s cries, Levi grabbed the cuff of the Eren’s shirt and pulled the brunet down eye-to-eye.
> 
> “What the fuck was that?”
> 
> Just as Levi’s leg rose to kick the boy, Hange grabbed the smaller man’s shoulder and pulled him away from the limp brunet before pulling him and Eren to another room to avoid the other soldiers.
> 
> -
> 
> “Eren,” Hange said quietly. “We all know it was you.”
> 
> Levi glared at Eren. “Answer me,” he demanded. “What the—”
> 
> But then Eren interrupted the man. “I revived them!” He let out a choked sob. “I revived them.” He said much more quietly.
> 
> “We know,” Hange’s voice was unusually quiet. “And we want to know why.”
> 
> “Why?” Eren repeated, confused.
> 
> There was a pause, then…
> 
> “Why you didn’t do it sooner.”
> 
> ‘Oh.’
> 
> “Oh… well…” Eren hesitated. “I always hid it… but I just… and I didn’t mean to.”
> 
> “You didn’t mean to revive them?” Levi said thickly. He seemed much calmer than moments ago as he stared at Eren with a cool expression.
> 
> The brunet nodded. He never meant it.
> 
> "I never meant it." He said out loud.
> 
> But he couldn't help but feel as if he was lying to himself.


End file.
